Celebration of golden years of longest reign
Mother and sister mourned amid jubilee
The rehabilitation of the royal family in the eyes of its subjects started with a visit to Australia. The scenes were reminiscent of those from 50 years previous when the newly crowned queen visited with her husband.
But the health of both her mother and her sister Princess Margaret rested heavily on her mind.
Her mother would celebrate her 100th birthday that August and Elizabeth made sure it was an unforgettable occasion.
First there was a grand ball, which also marked the 70th birthday of Princess Margaret, the 50th birthday of Princess Anne and the 40th birthday of Prince Andrew.
On the day of her birthday the Queen Mother rode with the Prince of Wales in carriage up the Mall to Buckingham Palace. That summer the planning for the Queen’s
Golden Jubilee two years later also began.
Princess Margaret died in the early hours of February 9 2002. Her funeral took place on February 15 – 50 years to the day of her father King George VI’s funeral.
The Queen Mother had cut her arm in a fall two days before the funeral, but she still managed to attend.
As scheduled Elizabeth left for Jamaica – the first stop on a two-week Golden Jubilee Tour – three days after the funeral. She called in every day to check on her mother. The Queen Mother died on March 30 2002 with her daughter and Margaret’s grandchildren and her niece Margaret Rhodes by her side.
She was 101 years old. On the night before the funeral, the monarch gave a televised address to her “beloved mother” at Windsor Castle, saying: “I thank you also from my heart for the love you gave her during her life and the honour you now give her in death.”
Despite the deaths Princess Margaret and her mother, golden jubilee celebrations went ahead and were not the damp squib the media predicted. The Queen attended all of the official celebrations as scheduled, along with her husband the Duke of
Edinburgh. Over 12 months, the royal couple journeyed more than 40,000 miles to the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, then around the United Kingdom, ending the jubilee year in Canada.
Numerous landmarks, parks, buildings, and the like, were also named in honour of the golden jubilee and commemorative medals, stamps, and other symbols were issued.
The festivities culminated in the June 4 event on The Mall in London when more than one million attended the parade and flypast.
In early 2003 the Queen slipped and tore the cartilage in her right knee, which required surgery.
On November 20 2007 Elizabeth and Philip celebrated 60 years of marriage.
On 21 December 2007 The Queen’s reign surpassed her great great grandmother Queen Victoria’s.
‘I thank you also from my heart for the love you gave her [Queen Mother]’
Queen Elizabeth II
On April 9 2005 the Prince of Wales married Camilla Parker Bowles, who had been gradually brought into the fold. The Queen – also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England – decided it was inappropriate to attend the civil service. She and Prince Philip did attend a Service of Prayer and Dedication afterwards at St George’s Chapel and hosted a reception. (photo: PA)